UB will host entrepreneur festival Thursday

The University at Buffalo and its Blackstone LaunchPad program will hold UB's first Entrepreneurs Festival Thursday.

The festival is geared toward entrepreneurs at any stage of business development. It will feature entrepreneurship demonstrations, networking and a talk with Lloyd Taco Factory co-founder Pete Cimino. It will wrap up with Pitch Wars, an idea-pitch competition among student entrepreneurs.

The 43North business plan competition, Z80 Labs business incubator, UB's Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships and Allstate's Minority and Women Emerging Entrepreneurs Program will be featured at the event.

Blackstone LaunchPad is an entrepreneur support program that helps UB students, staff and alumni think like entrepreneurs and bring their business ideas to market.

The festival goes from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday in the Student Union on UB's North Campus, 150 Putnam Way in Amherst.